Despite what you might think from reading my posts, I do not worship Lee Iacocca. I know my glowing praise of his marketing skills might lead you to believe that a framed photo of Lido illuminated by Mustang-shaped candles sits proudly in my living room. This is not the case, but I’ll admit that I can’t seem to say enough about his ability to read not only what the automotive buying public wanted, but what they needed and could afford. Iacocca has been gone for some time now, but does his thinking on cars hold true in today’s world?
In an interview after his retirement when Chrysler was on the ropes once again, Iacocca was asked how, if given the opportunity, he’d save them again. His response? “I’d make small cars that people want to buy.” You might think that’s absolutely not the case today, but recent turns of events make me believe the old Chrysler CEO’s statement once again. Mitsubishi might be just the company with nothing to lose and everything to gain by trying it out.
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Too Late For Too Little?
New small cars have been disappearing in America for some time now; we’ve reported on the impending death of the Mitsubishi Mirage, and the upcoming end of the Nissan Versa. There aren’t a lot of other choices either beyond something like a Hyundai Venue.
However, current factors at play seem to be making the decision to euthanize these models less than prudent. You see, the reasons for the shrinking subcompact car market over the last few decades are starting to disappear, such as:
Low Rates! Zero Percent!
If you could get 72-month low-interest financing, why not get a bigger and more expensive new car? This warmed a car company’s heart because the profit margin ain’t great on an entry-level model. Since the pandemic, much of that sweetheart financing has flat-out evaporated, and we all know that interest rates have risen as well.
Buy A Used … What?
Supply chain issues and a shift in people from leasing to buying means that the used car market is still not a great alternative to a cheap new car.
“I Remember When Gas Cost …”
Cheap fuel made tiny cars pointless before the pandemic, but now absurd gas prices are here to stay. Electric cars? They’re still too expensive, and who cares if they give you a free charger? Most low-end car buyers live in apartments or street-park, so where the hell do they plug it in?
It’s no surprise then that, as our Thomas Hundal pointed out, sales of these little cars were up in the last few months, just in time for the aforementioned Mitsubishi and Nissan models to be discontinued. Maybe Iacocca was right about small cars after all.
Ah, but look at the other part of Lido’s statement: “Small cars that people want to buy.” I seriously doubt anyone really wants to buy a Mitsubishi Mirage; it’s simply the best if not only choice in the price range for a buyer with very limited funds who wants a reliable new car (yeah, I know, as an Autopian if someone says “$16,000″ you’re thinking how much used semi-tragic Porsche you could get for that, but most people aren’t as dumb as we are).
The Mirage’s rather dopey styling screams “this is all I could afford,” and the 78 horsepower engine screams as it tries to put its meager power through a crappy CVT. No, this is a car purchased because you have no other choice.
That’s now how it used to be at Mitsubishi.
Before The dEVOlution Of Mitsubishi
Despite being a “car guy” I really couldn’t tell you if Mitsubishi was still selling vehicles other than that Mirage here in America. I just checked the website right now and realize that the answer is that they do, but it’s been three minutes since I shut the Mitsu website window and I can’t tell you what I just saw. My vague memory was crossover things that I might buy if, say, it was the only affordable Japanese option.
If you’re under thirty, you might find it hard to believe but people at one point purchased Mitsubishis because it was their favorite option. If you’re over forty these cars might be a bit like the band Duran Duran: you might have written them off as superficial flash-in-the-pans but now realize that were actually pretty damn good.
There were so many legit cars like the forgotten Z-fighting turbocharged Starions, the proto-supercar 3000GT, slick Eclipse Turbos, and the Galant VR4 with four-wheel-everything (even steering) that predated the vaunted Lancer EVO models. That’s solid performance credibility right there that Mitsubishi appears to be totally ignoring by making a bunch of milquetoast crossovers.
Even with very small cars, Mitsubishi once had some exciting products that were serious contenders for the hot hatch crown. The ultimate might have been the 1985 Colt Turbo from the time that you could buy a Mitsu at one of the seemingly countless Dodge (or Chrysler/Plymouth) dealerships in America.
The Colt was redesigned for this year with sleek sheet metal; even the front side marker lights were artfully blended into the clean design. With a roof spoiler over the hatch like the one above it was quite a snarky little devil. Under the hood, Mitsubishi offered a turbocharged version of the standard 1.6 Liter four that pumped out 103 horsepower; a zero to sixty time of 9.5 seconds doesn’t seem like much today but was competitive with benchmark VW Rabbit GTI.
In a seemingly redundant move, this Colt was actually also sold at U.S. Mitsubishi dealers as a Mirage in 1985 as well:
The Colt is just a bit longer than the current Mirage, and it’s shorter in height as well, but it’s close enough in size that the stark contrasts are staggering. While the 2024 Mirage is something that I would only choose if it were the last car on the Enterprise lot, that 1985 Colt Turbo looks terrific. In Turbo form it pushes all the buttons for Car You Want To Hoon. Given the choice of this and one of those $2.6 million McLaren P1s, you just know that the Colt would be far more fun to drive as a Real Car in the Real World, terrorizing the neighborhood under the radar.
To me, this is the model that needs to be the inspiration something new that not only makes you care about small cars once again, but that makes you give a shit about Mitsubishi. Here’s a full line of Colts to get you going.
The Hatch Becomes Hot: The GTS Turbo
Let’s start with the basic Mirage and see what we can do to make it more appealing.
I’d make it just a hair bigger to let us add wheels big enough to not be an embarrassment like the rubber-clad thimbles of the current car. We’d then add some retro sheetmetal to simulate the 1985 car, including more glass since people want windows for sunlight even with rearview cameras – do you hear me Elon? Let’s look at the animation:
Naturally, there would be a base model to go well below the $20,000 threshold but I’m focusing on the top-of-the-heap Turbo GTS model with retro “Charcoal Starion” wheels, the no-glare hood and even an electric rear spoiler that could adjust in angle as speed increases just like on that McClaren P1 (but on a vehicle that costs less than 1 percent of the price of that rather-useless-on-the-street hypercar). Notice the giant, well-integrated front side marker lights similar to the original eighties Colt.
Maybe we need to have a three-cylinder option for the Colt similar to the motor in the current Mirage, but I see a need to add a turbo even in base form. I’m certain the average buyer will be happy to sacrifice some economy to get enough performance to keep up with traffic. A four-cylinder would be optional, but the real news would be the turbocharged 245 horsepower motor in the GTS model. In a car that would tip the scales at under 2500 pounds, all the virtual calculators I’ve put the parameters into claim a zero to sixty time of around five seconds or less. Now that’s the Mitsubishi we all remember.
In back, the taillights of the 1985 car are mimicked in the hatch, with wraparound side marker lights matching the front ones holding repeater lamps for the taillamps since the main lights will be invisible with the hatch open (or rear fog lights for EU markets). Big central exhaust outlets are flanked by backup lamps.
Give It The Boot: EVO Junior GT
You can get a new 2024 Mirage with a trunk, and in the past a Colt 4-door sedan was offered by Dodge dealers even in turbo form:
We’d offer the same body style for the little Colt, including a hopped-up sedan called the EVO Junior. This tribute to the much-loved line of larger Mitsubishi Lancer performance cars could even have a trunk lid wing as on the bigger car:
I do wonder if we might even want to offer a detuned version of this with a similar look for the masses, as was done with the Lancer OZ Rally model; we can laugh at such paper tigers but some people just want the appearance of a fast car. Hell, they’re probably the smart ones and won’t die in a fiery wreck of a 245-horsepower tin can like you or I would do.
LeBaroning The Colt: The Diamante
Another entry in the reimagined car-formerly-known-as-Mirage lineup would be the Colt Diamante sedan (named for the long-ago-discontinued near-luxury Mitsubishi sedan offering) complete with retro wheels.
The Diamante is sort of a reverse Cimarron; you don’t pay for a luxury car name but you get the fancy car goods at a reasonable price. In fact, it’s a formula that American Motors tried quite successfully in their dying days when they turned the old AMC Hornet into the mini-luxury car Concord. A bit more chrome, fancy Landau-style vinyl top and wheels, plush tufty crushed velour seats and (gasp) an LED digital clock gave buyers what they would expect to find only with larger, more upscale cars but in an affordable, compact package.
You can see the rear seat of the stock Mirage, even with the fold-down rear armrest, looks like a very depressing place to be:
Like that AMC Concord fifty years ago, buyers will feel proud to take passengers in their new little car even though it only set them back about half of the $47,000 average that new car cost.
No Tape Deck Though
I tried to simulate the interior of the 1985 Colt as closely as possible, since I think it’s a great design with highly functional knobs sticking out just behind the steering wheel for wipers and lights.
On the new car, a small screen replaces the main cluster, while a smaller one is integrated into the center stack. Odd-looking right-angle-cut air vents sit at the top of the dash, with a Mitsubishi logo acting as the hazard flasher button below.
The modern parts mesh pretty well with the “futuristic” angular look. Let’s face it- if Mitsubishi had the technology back then they would have used it with that aesthetic.
You Don’t Need A $100,000 Car To Endanger Yourself
As if things couldn’t get worse for car buyers on a budget, it appears now that insurance rates are starting to skyrocket. If you thought you could barely afford that new $40,000 retro muscle car, a monthly Allstate or Geico bill that looks a payment on another car will end any thoughts of even considering such a thing.
All the more reason that people need small cars, and they shouldn’t have to make over six figures to buy a new vehicle that’s fun to drive. A car like this Colt Turbo could give you something that would be more amusing on the street than something only a one percenter could purchase, or seventy-year-old who finally has enough money to buy one.
Listen to Lido, Mitsubishi. You offered these kinds of options forty years ago, and it’s about time that you redeem yourselves by doing it again.
What It Might Look Like If Tesla ‘Gremlinized’ The Model 3 To Make A Tesla Model 2 – The Autopian
Man, those are some insultingly ugly renderings. Mitsubishi used to have badass design, they don’t need this.
In the meantime, believe it or not, there’s a whole bunch of aftermarket mods for the current Mirage – headers, locking diff group buys and whatnot. Some very sweet things can be done with it.
Speaking as a current and very happy Fiesta ST owner who has very nostalgic memories of the old, good Mitsubishis – sign me up for 245hp in a 2500 pound package!
The current and soon-to-be-dead Mirage looks kind of derpy but I dig the redesign. The Starion wheels are just <chef’s kiss> and the flat rear wheel arch really works. Oh, how I wish car makers would steal a few of your ideas…
I’m glad you like it! Honored to be able to please hot hatch fans.
In my view, they should keep the Mirage in production and just drop in a variant of the 4B4 1.5L turbo engine already used in other vehicles:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mitsubishi_4B4_engine
Or if it doesn’t fit, make a 1.1L 3cyl turbo version that would be good for 110-120hp.
Sell it with a manual and as a hybrid for the automatic version. So you have a nice/fun manual and you have an ‘automatic’ that gets more power and better fuel economy.
And thus, no sucky versions.
And I think this would be very doable. The 4B engine is an evolution of the 4A… which is what the 3A in the current Mirage was derived from.
A large part of the American problem with small cars appears to be the general commentary that associates them with one’s class in life (or just simply being poor) and clearly thinking “Well, I could never be that or even be seen as that.”
So even an actually good small car is dismissed for some inane reason regardless of the fact that, for the most part, they are fit for purpose. Yes this small car might seem to be (or even be) expensive for what it is compared to something two sizes up but no-one considers whole of life cost when they think that the world is going to consider them inferior just for owning it.
As for the Colt, they were cheap Mitsubishis when they were new and struggled against their contemporary Toyota, Ford and Nissan competition (in Australia) in terms of vehicle dynamics and finish. And the Sigma was simply a better alternative.
These days, the Colt is now the ASX. The Mirage has been dead here for a while due to non-compliance with side intrusion regulations and Mitsubishi has nothing to go up against the dominant Kia Picanto or the distant second Suzuki Ignis.
I like good, cheap, small cars and hot hatches so I enjoyed all of your mods, but I did not expect the Diamante sedan to my favorite of the bunch. But it is. One question: can you come up with ute version? Missing my old Rampage and that posh little Diamante would make a great looking cowboy Cadillac.
245 hp in a Mirage would be an unmanageable rocketship; the thing only weighs 2000 pounds. It would have a power/weight ratio of a C8 Corvette – but trying to push it all through the front wheels. Or to put it another way, it’d be like a Mazdaspeed 3 or Caliber SRT4, with 1000 lbs of curb weight removed. I mean, I’m all for a good time and all, but there are limits…
If you ‘just’ put a turbo on the existing 1.2L inline three you’d have the makings of a real pocket rocket, without sacrificing much in terms of fuel economy or ‘not arriving at the pearly gates backwards with your hair on fire’. The Buick Encore has a 1.2 turbo three that gets about 140 horsepower and 160 lb-ft of torque, and delivers 31 mpg in a crossover that is half a ton heavier and quite a bit bigger than the Mirage. With 14.25 lb/hp power to weight ratio, that’d give 14-second 1/4 mile times, 0-60 in the very low 7 second range… very similar to a Fiesta ST, in fact, which was famously no slouch.
I’m all in on this, but I would argue that the turbo three should be the ‘Colt GTS Turbo’ and the 4 cylinder should be an AWD ‘Evo’ rally car for the street that would be the scrappy replacement for the Subaru STI crowd.
Thank you for going with the pic of the first gen Eclipse. I know every fanboy goes nuts for the second, but I really love the lines of the original. And, you know, pop ups!
I feel like I’m channeling Adrian here (“goooood…let your anger flowwww….”) but it’s amazing how simply making the wheels on the Mirage bigger like you did makes such a positive difference on the net effect of the design. The real-life Mirage isn’t totally terrible I think, but it seems so b/c of those comically tiny wheels.
Or they can just bring us the Colt Plus from Taiwan! 🙂
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/48/2017_CMC-Mitsubishi_Colt_Plus_%28front%29.jpg/1920px-2017_CMC-Mitsubishi_Colt_Plus_%28front%29.jpg
Not sure that current gas prices are all that “absurd” if you take the 1985 average and use an inflation calculator to 2024 it comes out to $3.50 / gallon and here in Indiana we’re paying around 3 bucks.
True, it’s open to opinion but a.) there’s a reason I tank up before I leave Indiana on my way back to Chicago and b.) gas prices in 1985 were still considered high relative to where they’d been, and if you recall the “big” Chrysler New Yorker available then was a four cylinder powered K-Car derivative for a reason.
The first 4-door car my parents owned was a ’85 or ’86 Colt sedan with the carburetor 1.5l attached to a 3-speed slushbox. My 3-8yo self remembers our family of 4 taking that car everywhere, including a trip from Lincoln to South Padre and back.
They traded it in for a ’90 Chrysler T&C (only model year of 1st Gen minivan) in ’91 and apparently there was much love for that 5-6 year old carbed econocar in North Platte that they only lost like 25% of what they bought it for and got a sweet price on the van as the dealer wanted the T&C off the lot given it was replaced with the new, sleeker model.
Thanks for this memory unlock!
Man, I still miss my Evo X. This is a really cool look at what could be.
Or – Mitsubishi could just import their current Colt, which is their version of the Renault Clio V – one of the most popular cars in Europe.
Yes, please.
Maybe make a Ralliart version with the same specs but a bit more cladding. And an inch more ground clearance. It would be a smallish car in tune with these outdoor-posing times.
My wife loved her 89 colt and that thing was great. It was durable and quick for what it was. I bet she would want a new one as long as it was a manual.
Mmmm, the Maltese Liquor, deadly to everyone except robots and Billy Dee Williams.
Pretty hilarious how much more power my 2023 Kia Rio makes with the same displacement and no turbocharger. This imaginary Mitsubishi probably does not need both the turbo and the 4th cylinder to keep up with traffic.
That brief, sweet moment when I think I’m looking at an actual, real car that is actually, really going to be made … ⊙.☉
As a previous owner of many Moparbishis (’87 Conquest, ’88 Conquest, ’91 Talon TSi AWD, ’97 Eclipse GSX) I whole heartedly approve this message.
Those Starion wheels are the cat’s ass.
Hmm, is that good or bad?
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0082136/quotes/?item=qt1527795
Man, that front 3/4 view of the Mirage looks like what a 4-door Fiat 500 could be.
But I do like the reimagined Colt! You could build a crossover version for northern climes (a la the Subaru Crosstrek) and call it the Cold.
Colt 45. It works every time.
Thank you! Was gonna put that in the headline but took it out; glad somebody remembered.
Billy Dee Williams in the top photo; took a trip in The Wayback machine.
Back in high school in the late 80’s, when Duran Duran still roamed the Earth, my friends had gotten permission to do class presentations on VHS.
In this particular endeavor, they were doing a spoof on Star Wars which included one friend holding an old Electrolux canister vacuum and while proclaiming he and that particular R2 unit had been through a lot together.
The presentation ended with the death star (AKA a Coors Party Ball) being blown up by proton torpedoes (two cans of Colt 45) using all the CGI power a Commodore Amiga 500 could muster. Then my friend turns to the camera and intones “Colt 45, it works every time.”
Frankly, I’m not sure what they were presenting, but it was a hoot to watch them make it.
Easy to take to Target 😛
But ppl will buy the Outlander Sport instead :frown:
On a side note, closest Mitsubishi dealer to me is 200mile away
Starion wheels for the win!
I hate most current wheel designs. Yeah, I’m old…
I love the way your redesigned Colt looks more “horse-faced” than the original.
I’ve owned two Colts and two Mirages, and honestly miss them. They were such great value for the money, and a hell of a lot of fun. Mitsubishi needs to teach their younger engineers about when Mitsubishi was a real threat, hot on the heels of Toyota and Honda.
..or ahead of them. I would have taken a 1985 Colt over a concurrent Tercel all day long.